


Once Upon A Time in the Commonwealth

by EmeraldSymphony



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Fallout 4 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2017-02-01
Packaged: 2018-06-01 22:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6538771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldSymphony/pseuds/EmeraldSymphony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma joins Nora, the Sole Survivor of Vault 111, on her journey to find her son and along the way, Emma hopes to find the whereabouts of her parents. Will their journey across the Commonwealth lead them to their goals?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I had in mind for a while and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Emma Nolan had, for the past twenty-eight years, lived a comfortable life in Vault 81. Like the other residents, she was protected from the dangers of the wasteland; comfortable beds, radiation-free food, and clean water whenever she pleased were all things she had taken for granted. Whenever a trader stopped by, they were in awe of just how clean the place was. She had no parents, but she still didn’t have much to complain about. The worst thing about living in the vault was the hard work she and the others had to do lately thanks to Overseer McNamara. But at least they didn’t have to worry about being eaten by a deathclaw.

            But she was not satisfied with her life. While others were content with living in the safety of the vault, ever since she was a child, Emma longed to leave its confines and experience all the dangers and adventures outsiders talked about. Then, when she was eighteen the Overseer gave her a holotope that was labeled “We love you”. When she listened to the tape, she heard a kind woman’s voice speaking:

_Hi, Emma! It’s me, Mom. I just wanted to let you know that your father and I both love you very much. So whenever you’re feeling sad or angry, I want you to be able to listen to this, even if you’re far away from us, we both love you and nothing will ever change that. No matter what happens, you’ll always be in our thoughts._

            Every night she listened to that tape, and it only fueled her desire for escape even more. Why did her parents abandon her? It sounded like they loved her, so why weren’t they here? Surely they had a good reason. But maybe, for whatever reason, they stopped loving her. Whatever the case, sitting around in a vault wasn’t going to solve anything.

            But for ten years, she never left. She had plenty of opportunities, of course; she could just follow a passing trader right outside the door, since leaving by herself would be an even greater risk than tagging along with someone else, even if it was just for a little while. And yet, time after time she watched as the door close behind each and every one of them. Even though she desperately wanted to claim her ticket to freedom, her obligation to her vault always kept her from stepping outside.

The last time she had a chance was when a woman who was a dweller from another vault saved Austin’s life by delving into a secret, second vault and retrieving a cure for him. And one day she approached the woman and stopped her.

            “Hey, hold on a minute.”

            “Oh, hey there. Something wrong?”

            _Please let me come with you. I need to find my parents and I can’t do that if I’m stuck in this place. You don’t have to help me or anything, I just need someone to tell me how to survive out there and I can do the rest._

“I…uh… I just…” She reached into her pocket, pulled out a stimpak, and handed it to the woman. “I just wanted to give you this; Dr. Penske wanted to give it to you as a thank you for saving Austin.”

            “Thank you. I appreciate any help I can get.”

            It was the biggest regret of her life.

            But today the vault dweller returned and Emma knew that this could very well be her last chance. She talked to the Overseer beforehand who granted her permission to leave the vault, something she had neglected to do the last time she tried to talk to the outsider.

            Of course, there wasn’t even a guarantee that the dweller would let her tag along. But this time Emma decided that she was going with or without her. There had to be at least someone that would be willing to teach her how to survive.

            And there was the dweller herself, just about to walk outside the open door. Emma took a deep breath and ran towards her.

            “Hey!” she said. The dweller turned around as Emma approached her.

            “Oh, it’s you again. Anything you need?”

            “I… I want to come with you. Please, I need to find my parents, I need to know what happened to them. But I don’t want to go alone. I just need you to show me how to survive. I’d just really appreciate it if you’d let me go along with you.” The dweller smiled at her.

            “Sure. I could use another hand and I’ll do what I can to help you find your parents.” Emma couldn’t believe what she was hearing. For a minute she thought she had misheard her.

            “I… thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. And I’ll do the best I can to help you as well. I’m Emma, by the way.”

            “I’m Nora. Nice to meet you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Emma lifted her arm up to her face and squinted her eyes when they first met the sun. After a moment her eyes adjusted and for the first time in her life she got to see the Commonwealth. Soon she followed Nora down the hill.

            “We’re going back to my home base first,” she said. “We’ll be able to stock up before we head to Diamond City; I’ve got a friend there who just might be able to help you.”

            Emma had heard traders talk about Diamond City. “The Great Green Jewel of the Commonweath”, they called it and Diamond City Radio was her favorite station. She had to admit that it something she was excited to see it for herself.

            Emma took in every ounce of her surroundings. She stared in awe at the abandoned cars and buildings, cracked roads, and old skeletons, wondering what kind of life took place here all those years ago. She couldn’t help but feel somber as looked at all those artifacts from days gone by, knowing that once upon a time people lived in this world and the world as they knew it was taken away in an instant thanks to a war no one ever asked for.

            “So you said you’re looking for your parents?” Nora asked.

            “Yeah,” Emma replied. “I never really gave much thought about my parents until I was eighteen and the Overseer gave me a holotape from my mother. That’s my only clue to helping me find them.” Suddenly Nora stopped right in front of a Red Rocket Truck Stop and removed the rifle from her back.

            “Wait. Hear that?” Emma listened as she pulled out her 10 mm pistol. There was a faint rustling sound that sounded like it came from underground. Then it began to get louder and louder.

            Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her foot.

            “Ow! Shit!” she yelped. She looked down and saw a large, pink mole rat with its large teeth sunken in her boot. Luckily her boot was thick enough so that the teeth didn’t touch her skin. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell.

            Emma swiftly put a bullet in its head and the mole rat toppled over with a screech. As though on cue, three more of them popped out of the ground.

            “Ready for your first fight?” Nora asked as aimed down her sights. Emma shot one of them in the side of its torso twice before it fell and Nora shot the other two. Then right as two more dug themselves out of the ground, Emma killed them both with a shot to the head. After a moment, they continued on their way.

            “We’re almost there,” Nora said as she swung her rifle on her back. “You handled yourself pretty well.” A few minutes later they arrived at a large, faded sign with dead vines over it that read “Welcome to Sanctuary Hills”. In front of it was a wall lined with turrets and a wooden bridge that had deteriorated that led to a settlement made up of dilapidated houses. After they crossed the bridge, a German Shepard wearing a bright red bandana around its neck, metal armor on its body, and a pair of welding goggles on its head came running towards them with a happy bark and tail wagging.

            “Hey, Dogmeat!” Nora said as she kneeled down and rubbed the dog’s neck. “Miss me, boy?” The dog gave another happy bark before following them into the settlement.

            Emma was impressed by what she saw. There were some people tending a garden while others were reinforcing the walls of the homes. A Mr. Handy robot was hovering about and humming a cheerful tune as it cut down some razorgrain with its buzz saw. Everyone looked like they were playing their part in making this place their home.

            “General,” a man in a slouch hat and a long tan coat said as he approached them. “Good to see you back.”

            “You too, Preston,” Nora replied, “Everything going well?”

            “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

            “General, huh?” Emma said. “Didn’t know I was tagging along with a celebrity.”

            “I don’t think I’d say that,” Nora said with a light chuckle.

            “She’s just being modest,” Preston added. “She brought back the Minutemen right when I thought we were done for.”

            “The Minutemen?”

            “We help the people of the Commonweath at a minute’s notice. No matter what anyone might need, we’ll be there to help.”

            “Right now we’re stocking up on supplies before we head to Diamond City. There’s something we need to do,” Nora said.

            “All right. Be careful out there.”

            Emma followed Nora inside one of the houses. It still had the remains from before the war, like a ruined calendar on the fridge and a broken TV. The walls looked like they would fall apart and the ceiling would cave in if you got too close to them.

            “I wonder what this house was like before the war,” Emma said.

            “It was perfect,” Nora said. “A perfect home to raise a family in.”

            “Really? Why do you say that?”

            “Because… this was my home.”

“Wait… you’re saying that this was your house? From two hundred years ago?”

“Yeah… right as the bombs dropped me, my husband, and my baby were lowered into the vault that’s right up the hill. We were cryogenically frozen. My husband was killed and my son was kidnapped.”

“Oh my God… I’m so sorry. I never would have thought something like this would have happened.”

“Thank you. But I’m going to find my son. An organization called the Institute took him. And I won’t stop until I get him back from those bastards.”

“I’ll help you too. It’s the least I could do for you.” Nora smiled as they walked into the last room on the left. There was a bed and a few drawers along the walls.

“There should be a lot of stuff like clothes and ammo,” Nora said. “Take whatever you’ll think you’ll need.”

Emma opened the first drawer she saw and rummaged through a variety of clothes and armor. She pulled out a pair of black pants, shirt, and a red leather jacket that look liked it had its sleeve resewn at the shoulders several times. She changed out of her vault suit and into the new outfit she found and strapped on a set of metal knee protectors. Then she pulled out a few boxes of 10 mm ammo out of another drawer and put them in the pockets of her jacket.

“All right, I’m ready when you are,” she said as she exited the room. Then she saw Nora in the room across from her looking over a crib, not saying a word. She reached up and spun the mobile, which played a sweet tune before she gently bent down and caressed the mattress.

“Hey, you feeling alright?” Emma asked as she approached her.

“Oh… yeah, I’m fine,” Nora quickly replied. “Let’s go.”


	3. Chapter 3

It took them about two days to reach Diamond City. They had encountered a few groups of raiders along the way, but there was nothing that they couldn’t handle with a few bullets and a bit of sneaking. Once they saw signs pointing towards Diamond City, they were in the clear.

When the guards let them through the gate, Emma was amazed at what she saw. Under the clear blue sky was a bustling city, full of homes and business and people performing their daily routines. She heard several people advertising their business, the loudest being a man yelling what sounded like “Here swattah swattah swattah!” It made her wish that she had left the vault sooner.

The first person she had approached was a little girl with dark hair standing on a wooden crate and waving a paper in her hand in front of a house.

“Read the paper, lady,” the girl said as she handed Emma a newspaper. “Trust me.”

“The Synthetic Truth…” Emma read aloud.

“The Institute is everywhere,” the girl said as though she was telling a scary story. “They’ll grab you when they least expect it and replace you with a synth version of yourself. You better watch your back.”

Emma heard rumors about synths. Even the residents within the vault talked about it, wondering if it would be possible for a synth to kidnap and replace one of them within the vault. Emma usually rolled her eyes at such an idea and didn’t give it much thought, but reading this story did peak her interest of the subject.

“Found yourself a new reader, Nat?” a woman with a newsboy hat on her dark hair and wearing a cranberry colored coat asked as she exited the house.

“Hey, Piper, glad to see everything’s going well,” Nora said.

“Blue! Great to see you back. Mayor McDonut’s a pompus pain in the ass as usual, but I suppose I can’t complain. Who’s your new friend here?”

“I’m Emma. Nice to meet you.”

“Feeling’s mutual. So, what brings you to Diamond City?”

“I’m looking for my parents. Nora said that there’s someone here that’ll be able to help me.”

“Well, if there’s any man for the job, it’s Nick Valentine. He already found a lot of clues to helping Blue find her son. Speaking of which, I think I’ll tag along; I wanted to ask for some details about the cases him and Blue solved.”

The three walked around Piper’s house and turned into an alleyway with a neon sign that read “Nick Valentine Detective Agency”. Inside the building was a woman with brown hair tied back in a bun and a figure in a tattered trench coat and fedora with his back turned, looking like he was reading something. The whole room smelled of cigarette smoke.

“Nick, it’s Nora, Piper, and… someone new,” the woman said.

“Thanks, Ellie,” the man said turning around.

Emma was dumbstruck when she saw him. His skin was pale and worn with bright yellow eyes, and looked as though it was torn off on either side of his face and neck, revealing the metal framework of his jaw and wires. Her eyes wandered to his right hand when he pulled a cigarette and a lighter out, which was only a metal skeleton.

“Guess you’ve never seen a synth, huh?” Nick finally said after removing the cigarette from his mouth.

“Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to stare,” Emma replied embarrassingly.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve seen a lot worse reactions. Why don’t you have a seat and tell me what I can do for you.” Emma sat down on the opposite side of the desk where Nick was sitting.

“I’m looking for my parents.”

“Well, missing persons cases are my specialty. What can you tell me about them?”

“Well… nothing really. I was raised in a vault without them for as long as I can remember. All I have is this.” She pulled the holotape out of her pocket. “It has my mother’s voice on it.”

“Hmm… doesn’t give us too much to work with, but it’s better than nothing. Let’s have a listen.” Emma popped it into her Pip-Boy and it began to play.

“That voice sounds very familiar,” Nick said once the tape finished playing. “It sounds a lot like a woman who used to live here named Mary Margaret Nolan. She was here for a while with her husband David and their baby daughter. Nice little family.”

“Really? What do you know about them?” Emma anxiously asked.

“It was just the two of them at first. They just walked through the gates of Diamond City one day. They must have had a good sum of caps on them because by that night they had moved into one of the houses. I guess Mrs. Nolan was newly pregnant at the time because nine months later she gave birth to a daughter. Then about a year later they walked out the gates and never came back.” The smallest hint of a grin appeared on Nick’s face as he disposed of his cigarette. “Say, Nora, I don’t suppose you’re willing to put those lock picking skills of yours to use?”

“Breaking and entering again?” Nora replied with a smile of her own. “I don’t think the mayor’s going to be too pleased about that.”

“What McDonough doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Let’s go; I’ll show you the way.”

The three of them walked out of the agency and Nick led them to a two story house hidden away in a cluster of homes in the right side of the stands, out of sight from any guards.

“Care to do the honors?” Nick asked Nora. Nora nodded, pulled out a bobby pin, and began working on the lock as Nick lit himself another cigarette.

“So you came from a vault?” Piper asked Emma.

“Yeah. Vault 81.”

“What a coincidence, so did Blue. Though I guess she already told you that. So, uh, I don’t suppose you’d mind letting me interview you?”

“Interview?”

“Yeah. I already got to interview Blue. I thought I’d get a story about the Commonwealth from the perspective of someone who lived here two hundred years ago. So how about one from the perspective of someone who’s lived in the comfort of a vault and suddenly thrust into the wasteland?”

“Uh… sure, why not?”

“Great!” They heard the click of a newly broken lock.

“All right, we’re in,” Nora said swinging open the door.

The house wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. There was a wooden desk in one corner of the first floor with a painting of a kitten above it, a table and two chairs in the center with a flower vase with wilted flowers for a centerpiece, a bookshelf along one wall, and a crib with a teddy bear in it along another. A ceiling fan with lights was still running.

“We should probably start looking around for clues,” Nick said. Piper pulled open the desk drawer. It was empty save for two pencils and a bottle of Nuka Cola.

“Want it?” she asked offering Emma the drink.

“Sure. Thanks,” she replied. Emma walked upstairs and saw a double bed with a green steamer trunk at the end of it. She unlatched it and flipped up the lid. There were several sets of clothes neatly folded and a shotgun and some shells resting on top. Emma took the shotgun and shells for herself and removed all of the clothes. “Nothing,” she sighed dejectedly. She was about to stand up when she noticed a thin, barely visible indentation at the bottom of the trunk. She placed her fingernail in the indentation and pulled downwards. Underneath it was five holotapes.

“Find anything?” Nora asked.

“Yeah, actually,” Emma replied. She gathered the holotapes and walked downstairs. She placed them on the desk and read the labels. Each one was titled “Nolan Log” and numbered one through five. “Guess we should have a listen then.” She took the first holotape and placed it in her PipBoy. The first was David’s voice.

_Made it to Diamond City today. I was hoping we could have some more time to prepare, but with Mary Margaret finding out she was a week pregnant, we had to leave as soon as possible since traveling while pregnant could be quite difficult. Luckily, it was only about three days’ worth of travelling. I couldn’t believe we had enough caps to buy ourselves a house here. Let’s hope our good luck streak continues._

“So we still have no idea where they came from,” Emma said.

“Hey, it’s only the first tape,” Piper said. “Put the next one in.” This time it was Mary Margaret.

_Last night we got all our furniture in the house and today we finally got to meet everyone in the city and David got a job as a gardener and caretaker for the brahmin. The people living in the stands are… less than pleasant, but everyone else seems nice. It’s nice to see a place where ghouls and humans live peacefully together too. It’s a shame that so many people won’t even look at them. Well, things may be a bit different out here than they are at the Institute, but I’m glad we could get any from them. Maybe we can even make a difference in the Commonwealth._

“Whoa, didn’t see that one coming,” Piper said as Emma removed the holotape. “At least we know it’s the same voice that’s on the holotape you brought with you.”

“The Institute,” Emma said. “They’re the ones that are kidnapping people and replacing them with synths, right?” She hoped that her parents didn’t have anything to do with those.

“Never would have guessed a nice couple like them came from there,” Nick said.

“And ghouls used to live here?”

“Yeah, until Mayor McDognut kicked them all out,” Piper replied. “If they weren’t killed, they fled to Goodneighbor.”

“Let’s see if the next one tells us anything,” Nora said. It was David’s voice again.

_It’s 2:12 A.M. on September 10, 2249. After about ten hours of labor, our beautiful daughter was born. She’s got big beautiful eyes just like her mama’s. We’re calling her Emma, something we decided just last month. We’re both so happy…_

“It sounds like they really loved you,” Nora said.

“I remember when you were about a week old, the two of them brought you out for everyone to see,” Nick added. “Even I have to admit that you were pretty cute. And I remember the look of pure love in their eyes when they were holding you. That’s something you can’t just fake.” That may have been true, but if they did love her, then why did they abandon her? Did they just stop loving her? Was it even worth looking for someone who might not even want to be found? “Are you starting to have second thoughts?” Nick said after noticing that Emma was silent.

“I… I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t say that I love them since I know next to nothing about them. What if they don’t want me to find them? What if I’m just wasting time?”

“Well, think about it this way: Would you rather go through the rest of your life never getting an answer to something you’ve wanted to know for as long as you can remember?”

“No, I guess not.” Emma would undoubtedly be disappointed if it turned out her parents didn’t care about her, but it would still be better than never knowing at all. Besides, she would have other things to look forward to in life. But right now she wanted to know more. She ejected the third holotape and popped in the fourth one. Mary Margaret’s voice was on this one again.

_Today David came back from his monthly scavenging trip and said he found a working vault and wants us all to move in there. Apparently he coaxed the Overseer into letting us live there. But I just don’t know about moving out of Diamond City. We’ve lived here for a little more than a year just fine. Do we really need to make another dangerous trip through the Commonwealth? But I suppose living in a vault would be more comfortable than here, even if we already have a well-established life here. I just want to give Emma her best chance… and I just don’t know what to do._

“My best chance…” Emma echoed as she ejected the tape. “Well if that’s what they really wanted, I guess they made a good choice.” She popped in the final tape. It was David’s voice again.

_We decided to go to the Vault 81. It’s dangerous out in the Commonwealth, especially with a baby, but we’re prepared. We said goodbye to our friends, since we probably won’t be seeing them very often anymore. We’re going to be leaving these holotapes locked up here; the people inside the vault are suspicious of newcomers as it is, and the last thing we need is for some snoopy neighbors finding out about our history. Well, I guess I should say goodbye. Maybe one day we’ll listen to you again._

“I guess that’s it,” Nora said.

“We’re a step in the right direction, but we still don’t know that much,” Nick said. “If only you had memories from when you were a baby… hmm… I wonder…”

“What is it?” Emma asked.

“Why don’t we meet at the Memory Den in Goodneighbor? A friend of mine named Dr. Amari just might be able to help us. Why don’t you rent a room at the Dugout Inn and I’ll meet you there by tomorrow?”

“Thanks, Nick. I really appreciate your help.”

“I’m just doing my job.”

The three of them exited the house. Not a soul had noticed them doing so.

“I need to go back to the office and finish a few things,” Nick said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“So, Emma,” Piper said. “How about we grab ourselves a bowl of noodles and we can get started on that interview?”

“Sure.” The three of them walked to the center of the city where there was a tall structure with bright red canopies draping above the tables and stools around it. A smokestack emitted dark smoke into the air. There was a bright neon sign on it that read “Power Noodles.” A protrectron wearing a chef’s hat was stirring away at his cooking pot.

“Hi,” Emma said. “We’d like three bowls of noodles.”

“Nani shimasu ka?” he asked.

“Uh… excuse me?”

Nani shimasu ka?”

“Just say ‘yes’, it’s all he understands,” Nora said.

“Um… yes?” the protectron set out three bowls and ladled out a serving of noodles for each bowl. After he was finished he resumed stirring at his pot. Emma took a spoonful of the soup. The noodles were a bit stiffer than what she was used to, but they were still quite tasty.

“So,” Piper said pulling out a pencil and notepad, “what’s it like being outside of the cushy security of a vault?”

“Well, I always knew it was going to be dangerous. But luckily I’ve got someone who was generous enough to let me tag along. And when you’re almost constantly running for your life, you learn to adapt quickly.”

“I see. So what do you think of our fair city? How does it measure up to your cozy vault life?”

“It’s definitely a lot different. But it’s also more exciting and has a lot more variety. It’s really amazing to see how everyone plays their part in keeping the city the way it is. So I guess in that way it’s also not that different.”

“Interesting. Yep, I think the public’s going to love this. Thanks, Emma.”

“No problem. So, you going to Goodneighbor tomorrow?”

“Nah, I’ve got to write this story up and edit some more. Actually, I should be heading home now; it’s getting late and I’m sure Nat’s getting worried about me. See ya.” She hopped off the stool and headed home. It was then that Emma noticed that the stars were beginning to appear in the sky.

“We should be turning in for the night, too,” Nora said. “Come on, the Dugout Inn should still have a room.” Not far away from the Power Noodles they walked down a set of stairs that led into a pit with a few sets of patio furniture and into the inn. Inside was a cozy setup with a small group of people already gathered on some nearby sofas.

“Hey, Vadim,” Nora said setting down a handful of caps on the bar. “We’ll be taking a room please.”

“It’s room number three as usual,” he said with a thick Siberian accent taking the caps. “How about a drink for you and your friend as well?”

“Sure. You up for one too, Emma?”

“Yeah, I could use one,” Emma replied. Vadim reached under the counter and placed two bottles of beer in front of them. Emma pulled the cap off the bottle and took a sip. Then immediately spit it out and started gagging. “Jesus!” she coughed. “What the hell is in this?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll tolerate the taste in time,” a woman wearing a red coat and hood said as she as approached them. A hunting rifle was slung across her back. Behind her was a wolf-looking dog sat down next to her on the floor as the woman sat on the barstool and ordered herself a beer.

“It tastes like someone took a piss in it. I don’t know how anyone can drink this stuff.”

“It’s not the taste you drink it for,” Nora said, “it gives you a pretty damn good buzz. It’s a nice way to unwind after a long day.”

“Well, if you put it that way…” Emma said. She held her breath and took a swig. After swallowing she caught her breath again and could still taste the bitter flavor. But it gave her a warm feeling that radiated through her body and gave her a somewhat lightheaded feeling. So she immediately took another sip.

“I’m Ruby, by the way,” the woman in the red hood said. “This is Luna”. The wolfish dog gave an enthusiastic back at her name.

“I’m Emma. Nice to meet you. So what do you do around here?”

“My grandma owns Willow’s Diner. When I’m not serving tables, Luna and I are hunting for animals. Radstags, yao guai, stuff like that.”

“So you don’t buy the meat from that vendor?”

“Choice Chops? Sometimes we buy brahmin meat, but most of our meat comes from me; buying it from them all the time can be expensive, especially when it comes to more dangerous animals. Besides, I enjoy hunting; there’s nothing like the thrill of fighting a ferocious, irradiated beast. Course, if it were up to Granny she’d just have me hunting radroaches. But they’re not exactly very popular, even with her special tato sauce. She can make a mean yao guai roast, though.”

“I’ll have to try it when we get back from Goodneighbor.”

“Oh, you’re heading to Goodneighbor? You know, just about everyone here says the place is shithole, Granny included, but it’s not so bad.”

“You’ve been there?”

“Oh, yeah, I like to stop there whenever I happen to be near there. Sure, it’s got its fair share of junkies, but as long as you aren’t looking to pick a fight, you won’t have anything to worry about. I even made a few friends there. That and I’d take Mayor Hancock over McDonough any day, even if Hancock’s favorite hobby is to get as high as a vertibird. Well, I’d like to stay and chat, but I promised Granny I’d be home early.”

“See ya, Ruby,” Nora said. “We should be turning in, too; we want to get up early if we want to make it to Goodneighbor at a decent time.” Emma nodded in agreement, took the last swig of her beer, and followed Nora to the room behind the bar with a large, red number 3 painted on it. It wasn’t a fancy room, but it had two dry and neatly made beds. It was a lot more appealing than damp bedrolls underneath a leaky wooden makeshift roof. When she lay down on the bed, she actually found it pretty comfortable. Not as comfortable as her bed in the vault, but still sleepable. She buried herself under the covers and fell asleep to the thoughts of wondering what would be in store tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

“ _Wakey, wakey, Emma.”_

_“W…What?”_

_“It’s time to get up. You sure slept in late, sleepyhead. Come on, it’s a new day.”_

_“But… who…”_

_“I already let you sleep in late as it is. You don’t want to sleep in anymore, do you? Silly. Now, come on, it’s time to get up.”_

“Hey, Emma.”

Emma shifted around in her bed for a moment before rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Mmm… what…?”

“Come on, it’s time to go.”

“Oh, yeah, right.” That dream… Emma hadn’t dreamed about her mother’s voice for quite some time. She would say different things, but they were usually the same kind of dream; it was always her voice sweetly talking to her as if she were still a little girl. It was strange, but for some reason she always felt a sense of comfort after one of those dreams.

After about an hour of fighting through raiders, the two of them made it to a scrap metal wall with a neon sign that read “Goodneigbor” and an arrow pointing towards the door. Written in white paint were the words “everyone welcome”. When they opened the door, Emma noticed despite the sun shining, the town had a certain gloom surrounding it. There were two shops in front of them and a tough looking guard wearing a nice suit and hat and carrying a tommy gun stood against a wall nearby. Then a man wearing a red frock coat and tricorn hat who was leaning against a wall approached them.

“Well, well, look who’s back,” he said in a raspy voice. “Always a pleasure to see you in Goodneighbor, Nor.”

“The pleasure is mine, Hancock,” Nora said with a smile. “This is my friend, Emma.”

Upon closer inspection, Emma saw that he was not an ordinary man. His skin looked like it was burnt and shriveled, with a missing nose and his eyes were pure black. His clothing looked like it came straight from the eighteenth century and had what looked like an American flag tied around his waist.

“Looks like my dashing good looks caught another one,” he said.

“Oh, uh… sorry…” Hancock simply let out a light chuckle. Emma knew what ghouls were; they were people who were affected by prolonged radiation. She knew that they were unusual looking, but seeing one for herself was a different story. Still, she had to remember not to stare at people in the wasteland; the next time she did, they might not be as forgiving.

“Mayor Hancock, we need to talk.”

A well-dressed ghoul in a dark suit with shoulder-length hair and an every so slightly raspy Scottish accent walked out from around the side of the large red brick building near them and folded his arms across his chest. He did not look pleased in the slightest.

“What seems to be problem, Gold?” Hancock asked.

“Are you aware of the Brotherhood Scribe that’s here?”

“You mean the _former_ Brotherhood Scribe? Yeah, I’ve seen her. What about her?”

“What about- are you out of your mind? Letting members of the Brotherhood of Steel just waltz in here? Are you not aware of their stance on ghouls like you and me?”

“Of course. I was suspicious of her as well. But she told me herself that she no longer involved with the Brotherhood. So what seems to be the problem?” Gold looked even more frustrated.

“You’re just going to take her word for it? Has it not occurred to you that she was sent by the Brotherhood to spy on us?”

“Hey, me and the neighborhood watch are going to be keeping an eye on her for a while. And I’d be a hypocrite if I turned her away. After all, she needs a place to stay, and Goodneighbor is there to provide. Of the p-“

“Yes, yes, I know, ‘Of the people, for the people’.”

“Exactly. Now as for you…” Hancock reached into her coat and pulled out an inhaler, took Gold’s hand, and closed the inhaler in it. “I think you need to relax. I’m the mayor, let me worry about this stuff. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a speech to make.” Hancock turned around and entered the white woode door of the building. Gold gave an exasperated sigh before placing the inhaler in his jacket pocket.

“So what’s this Brotherhood business all about?” Emma asked.

“The Brotherhood of Steel is an organization devoted to preserving old world technology,” Nora replied.

“They also hate synths, super mutants, and ghouls,” Gold added. “And now this scribe walked into our town, which is supposed to be a safe place from people like her.” He sighed again, closing his eyes for a moment as though he was letting his frustration settle. “Well, I suppose since the mayor’s kept us safe for this long, I should have no reason to distrust him now. In fact, I’m going to see what Hancock’s speech is all about. You coming?”

“Yeah, his speeches are always entertaining.”

The three of them walked around the side of the building where Gold came from, the Old State House they called it, and a large group of people had already formed, ghouls and humans alike all staring at the white balcony above them. There was even an assaultron a midst the crowd. It really was a place for everyone.

A minute later, Hancock emerged from the double doors and was greeted with enthusiastic cheers.

“All right everyone, listen up,” he said. “I’m sure you’re all aware of a few ‘guests’ that decided to make a little visit to the Commonwealth.”

“It’s those Brotherhood bastards!” a female drifter shouted.

“That’s right! Now, I know this a lot take in, especially since we’ve got the Institute as our primary threat. But I want to remind everybody that now more than ever, we need to stick together. We gotta tell the world that no Brotherhood of Steel or Institute is going to fuck with us!”

“What about that scribe poking around here?” a male ghoul asked.

“I know you’re worried about her. Trust me, I’m not letting my guard down any time soon. But I’m glad you brought her up because I want to remind you all of the purpose of our town: To provide a place for anyone and everyone, so long as they follow ours rules. No one gets turned away, no matter who they are, even in times like these. We don’t want to be like those tools in Diamond City, now do we?

“Now, what’s the best damn town in the Commonwealth?”

“Goodneighbor!” the crowd shouted in reply.

“And who’s in charge of Goodneighbor?”

“Hancock!” Then everyone shouted with Hancock “Of the people, for the people!” After a bit more cheering, Hancock reentered the building and everyone dispersed.

“Of the people, for the people…” Gold quietly echoed. Emma noticed the neighborhood watch keeping a close eye on a woman in a long pale blue jacket with a white ascot around her neck and brown curly hair as she walked away. “Well, I should probably get back to my shop.”

“We should go to too,” Nora said. “The Memory Den’s right across the street.”

When Emma entered the Den, the first thing she noticed was the smell of potpourri and two hundred year old scented candles. It seemed fitting for a place with red walls, curtains, and doors and a certain seductive air. There were strange looking pod-like loungers and some of them had people resting in them. They approached a woman in a frilly red dress lounging on a sofa on the stage.

“You’re looking for Valentine, aren’t you?” she asked. “He’s right downstairs, dear.”

“Thanks, Irma,” Nora replied. They walked backstage and down the stairs where Nick and a woman in a lab coat were waiting for them.

“There you are,” Nick said. “Emma, this is Dr. Amari. She’s the friend I was talking about.”

“Mr. Valentine, you’re asking a lot from me,” she said.

“I know. And I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important.”

“Very well. I’ll do everything I can. Emma, please have a seat in the memory lounger.”

Emma walked over to the open lounger and sat down. When the glass closed around her, she saw a small screen that read “please stand by”. She felt like a specimen in a jar with everyone looking at her through the glass.

“I’m going to try to tap into your very earliest memories,” Amari said. “I can’t guarantee that we’ll find what you’re looking for since the memories are from when you were so young, but I’ll see what I can do. Now, just relax.” As Emma relaxed in the lounger, she felt a strange, hazy feeling overcome her, like her mind was leaving her body. Then it felt as though her body had faded completely away as her vision turned white.

Now she was floating within a dark void, with strange glowing pathways surrounding her. A moment later the stage area of Diamond City became visible and she saw a woman with short black hair and a man with blond hair surrounded by a small group of people. The woman was holding a baby in her arms.

“This is the first memory I could find,” Amari said.

Emma saw everyone cooing over the baby in the woman’s arms. The two proud-looking parents were smiling.

“We named her Emma,” the woman said. “Detective Valentine, would you like to hold her first?”

“Oh, uh, I appreciate the sentiment,” Valentine said with a bit of uncertainty in his voice, “but I haven't exactly had that much experience with kids.”

“It's okay, all you need to do is make sure her head stays up.” Before he could say anything else, the woman gently placed the baby in Valentine's arms. “Like this.” Valentine looked almost scared for a moment, but soon he smiled when he saw that she didn't act frightened despite his unusual appearance.

“See, she likes you.” Then the scene faded away.

“I don't think that this is the memory we need,” Amari said. “Let's take a look at the next one.” Emma moved to the next closest memory to her. This time it was both Mary Margaret and David in their home sitting at the table. Soon the scene started up again.

“David, do we really need to move again?” Mary Margaret asked. “It was hard enough getting away from the Institute.”

“I know, I know,” David replied. “But Vault 81 is a great place. It's clean, there's lots of great people and they could really utilize our skills, and-”

“But what's wrong with Diamond City?”

“Nothing. It's just that living in a vault would be even better, like living before the bombs dropped.”

“Why can't we just be happy here?”

“We are. It's just that I want the best for Emma.”

“And I don't?” Mary Margaret realized that she sounded harsh and looked more sympathetic after that. “Look, it's just that I'm happy here. We're happy here. Isn't this good enough?”

“Of course. It's just that I want to give Emma her best chance. Don't you?”

“I do, but...” Emma could see and hear her infant self start crying. “It's getting late. Why don't we talk some more about this tomorrow?” Right as Mary Margaret bent down in the crib to pick her up the scene faded away again.

“We're getting closer,” Amari said. “I think this next one might be it.” Emma moved to the next memory and saw that she was inside Vault 81. Mary Margaret was sitting on the couch with Emma resting in her lap.

“Oh, Emma,” she said. “we've had quite the journey, haven't we? But I think everything will be okay now. I'm just happy that we can finally stay in one place together as a family.” Right as she had finished saying that, the door opened and David walked into the room. Mary Margaret smiled at him until she saw how worried he looked and noticed that his vault suit was dirty and he had a few scratches on his face. She quickly set Emma down on the floor and ran up to him. “Oh my God... Honey, what happened?”

“A courser,” he said as he sat down on the couch. “I had a run in with a courser.”

“What?”

“Yeah. She put up a good fight too. But I managed to get away from her without her seeing me.” Mary Margaret went to sink and returned with a wet washcloth and first aid supplies, knelt in front of him, and began to clean his wounds.

“Did you recognize her?”

“No, I don't think so.”

“Oh God... I didn't they would try to go after us, let alone find us.”

“I know. I didn't think they'd miss us so much...”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don't know, sweetheart... I don't know...” For a moment, it looked like Mary Margaret was about to start crying. Then they both froze and Emma's vision began to fade.

“That's the last one I could find,” Amari said. “I'm going to bring you back now.” Everything around Emma turned white before fading back into reality, where she saw the “Please Stand By” screen in front of her. She rubbed her eyes as the glass dome was released.

“How are feeling?” Amari asked.

“All right...” Emma replied as she rubbed her eyes and stood up, “just... kind of weird...”

“So what did you see?” Nora asked.

“I think I know what happened now; They left me at the vault because coursers were after them. Whatever they are.”

“They're annoying little bastards, that's what,” a voice replied. Emma looked over and saw a dark haired man leaning against the door frame. He wore a long leather jacket and pants and had metal limb protectors strapped to his arms and legs. “They're usually assigned to chasing down escaped synths.”

“Killian!” Amari said, “I thought I told you to rest.”

“Come on, doc, you really didn't expect me to just lay around for more than just a few hours, did you?”

“Just try to take it easy, please.” Killian walked over to the group.

“I don't think I've seen you around here,” Nick said.

“Name's Killian Jones. You could say that I'm the Railroad's newest recruit.”

“The Railroad?” Emma asked.

“They're an organization that's devoted to saving synths from the Institute,” Nora explained. “So you're their newest recruit?”

“That's right, lass. Anything I can do to screw those Institute bastards over.” As he was talking, Emma saw that his left hand was like Nick's skeletal one, despite the fact that he looked like a normal human otherwise. This time, though, she resisted the urge to eye it for too long. “Besides, I owe them my life; if it weren't for them, I would have been taken back to Institute, had my memory wiped, and sent back to cleaning duty.”

“The Institute doesn't sound like a nice place,” Emma said.

“Not at all.”

“And that's where my parents came from... I guess they left me in the vault because the Institute was after them.”

“And they didn't want to put you in danger because they probably wouldn't be able to stay in one place,” Nick added. “It really seems like they did want to give you your best chance.”

“But how can I find them now?”

“Well, the best plan I can think of is actually breaking into the Institute itself. The question is, though, is how...”

“Why don't we try to see if the Railroad can help us?” Nora asked. “They probably know the most about the Institute and will probably know what to do with this courser chip I was able find.”

“Great idea,” Killian said, “when are we off?”

“Killian!” Amari scolded.

“I'm just joking, doc, don't take everything so seriously.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Belle didn't expect the people of Goodneighbor to welcome her with open arms, but she did wish that she didn't feel so lonely. When she entered the Third Rail, she was greeted by many judgmental stares and Whitechapel Charlie begrudgingly serving her a plate of cooked cram. She sat all alone at one of the tables, eating in silence. At least the people stopped staring, since it would be rather awkward to eat while being watched. Still, she did wish she had some company.

“Hey, Charlie, you got my usual?” a familiar voice said.

“Just came in today,” the Mr. Handy replied.

“Excellent.” After setting a handful of caps on the bar, he walked towards the table Belle was sitting. “Enjoying Goodneighbor?”

“Oh, Mayor Hancock,” she said with surprise, “well, to be truthful, it doesn't seem like I'm very popular; I can understand why, but it would be nice to have a few friends.”

“I wouldn't worry about it too much; everyone here can get pretty suspicious when someone new comes along, but they warm up eventually. You just got to give it some time. If you want to make friends, I'd start with Daisy. She's a real sweetheart.”

“I'll do that. Thank you.”

And indeed Daisy was quite nice. Belle listened intently about the stories of the ghoul's childhood, and what life was like before the bombs dropped. She was particularly interested in hearing about the Boston Public Library, and was happy to hear that it was still standing. Who knows how many books have survived.

“If you plan on going there, though, I'd suggest you be careful,” Daisy said. “The place seems to be a favorite hangout for super mutants.” Belle knew that she probably shouldn't go there when she had just arrived at the Commonwealth, but the idea of shelves and shelves of still readable books was too good to pass up. So she bought herself a supply of ammo for her laser rifle and some stimpaks and went on her way.

She had done well so far, sneaking and shooting her way through some raiders and even picking up some more stimpaks. Then she arrived at the library and saw that there were at least five super mutants surrounding the building and who knew how many more were inside. Perhaps the wasn't such a good idea after all...

Then she suddenly heard a loud explosion and her vision turned white. She yelped in surprise before ducking and covering.

When her sight cleared she saw an enormous mushroom cloud and that there was now only one super mutant left, the other ones now little more than bloody and green scattered limbs. And shooting at the final super mutant was Mr. Gold.

Then suddenly the mutant charged after him and knocked him to the ground with the butt of his rifle.

“Hey!” Belle shouted. The second the super mutant looked over at her she shot him in the head with her laser rifle and his head exploded like a melon, sending bloody chunks of skull flying everywhere. She ran towards Gold as the mutant's body fell to the ground. He did not look very happy. “What's wrong?” she asked with confusion.

“I can handle myself perfectly fine without assistance,” Gold said with a cold tone as he brushed a chunk of super mutant off his sleeve.

“A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed.”

“I don't need any help, _thank you,_ especially not from someone with connections to the Brotherhood of Steel. What are you doing here anyway? Were you following me?”

“If you must know I'm here because Daisy suggested it.”

“Is that so? Well I suppose now that you're here you're not about to leave any time soon. Come on.”

“I thought you said you didn't need any help.”

“I don't. But since we're both here I suppose I'd might as well make some use out of you since you seemed so eager to help me before.” Belle shook her head, but followed the ghoul anyways; it would be better to be with someone else in an unfamiliar location, even if that person was a brute.

The door opened and closed with a loud groan and Belle immediately noticed the strong scent of rotting paper and burnt wood. The library was not much different than many other buildings in the Commonwealth; ruined, broken, and a shell of what it once was. And all of its beauty and glory was gone in an instant.

“Try not to make too much noise,” Gold said in a low voice. “Daisy told me that Nora cleared out this place not too long ago, but some super mutants could have come back here.”

Belle tried to walk as quietly as she could, but the almost pure silence of the building and the enormous size of it made each of their footsteps sound much heavier than they actually were. Even the sounds of falling debris echoed through the library.

As Gold took to rummaging through some old desks drawers Belle examined her surroundings. Most of the bookshelves were toppled over and empty and almost all of the books she came across were ruined and unreadable. But to her delight she found a few books that were mostly untouched. One of them was a collection of stories about King Arthur and there were the Shakespeare plays _Romeo and Juliet_ and _Hamlet_. And the best part was she had never read these before. She quickly put them into her bag.

After she had finished putting away her new treasures she looked over at Gold and noticed that he was putting away something of his own into his jacket pocket. It looked like it was a gold pocket watch and chain that had seen better days.

“A little polish and fixing up and you'll be telling time better than ever,” she heard him say to himself. Then she saw him grimace in pain and hold his right leg. “Damn it,” he hissed. He reached back into his pocket and pulled out syringe before stabbing it into his leg, causing Belle to wince. He let out a sigh of relief as he tossed the now empty syringe aside.

Belle watched as the syringe rolled towards her and stop when it hit her foot. Now she could see that it was a Med-X syringe.

“Don't tell the Brotherhood doesn't even provide Med-X,” Gold said.

“I know what Med-X is,” Belle replied indignantly. “I'm not a-”

“Wait.” Belle stopped right in her tracks. His arm was outstretched in front of her. “Do you hear that?” She listened closely, but she couldn't hear anything. “Follow me. Quietly.” She followed him as he carefully walked to the entrance of the next room. He peeked around the corner of the wall then gestured for her to do the same.

And right in the next room was a pack of feral ghouls. Seven of them to be exact and they were all gathered at the very end of it.

“It's probably best if we sneak attack them,” Gold said just above a whisper. “Go for the legs; without them, they're sitting ducks.” Belle gave a firm nod before following his lead to get a little bit closer to them. Slowly... slowly...

_Thud_

One of Belle's books fell right through a hole in the bottom of her bag, the sound loud enough for everyone to hear. The feral ghouls suddenly screeched before charging towards them, arms outstretched and eyes ravenous.

“Shit!” Gold shouted before desperately shooting at them. Belle quickly joined him and haphazardly shot at the crowd, hoping that she was causing some sort of damage to them. But they were only able to knock one down and the other six were quickly approaching. “We need to pull back!” She quickly followed Gold as he ran towards the back of the previous room.

Suddenly she felt her left leg fall through the floor and her body lunged forward and her rifle went flying. She could hear the ghouls' footsteps getting closer and closer, and their growls getting louder.

“Help!” she cried as she tried to pull herself out of the hole her leg was trapped in. The hole was too small for her to adjust her body properly, though, and she couldn't pull herself out. She tried to reach for her rifle, but it was way too out of her reach for her to possibly get a hold of. Then she felt a corpse-like hand grab at her shoulder.

Then she heard a loud screech right next to her ear followed by the bang of a gun and a sickeningly squishing sound. She turned her head as far as her neck would allow her and saw that Mr. Gold was shooting and kicking at the ghouls that were attacking him, slamming them to the ground when they got their hands on them.

He shouted in pain when one of them managed to sink their teeth into his face, but quickly shot it in the chest and it soon fell with a lifeless thud. After shooting one last ghoul in the head, the danger had passed and all that was left was scattered ghoul corpses.

After catching his breath, Gold carefully lifted Belle out of the hole and placed her back on solid ground.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” Belle replied. “And thank you. For saving me.”

“You're welcome. And thank you as well. For earlier. Really, I do appreciate it.” Belle smiled at him, until she noticed the bite wounds on his face.

“You're hurt.”

“It's fine.”

“But you're bleeding.”

“I'll be all right. It's nothing I can't handle. I am a ghoul after all.”

“I know, but...” Belle reached into a pocket in her bag and pulled out a rag and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She quickly unscrewed the bottle, poured some of the alcohol onto the cloth, and placed it against his wound. Her winced a bit from the burn of the alcohol, but stayed still. Belle noticed that his skin was very warm to the touch and his eyes were almost completely black, like most of the other ghouls she's seen. She had never seen them so up close before, though, and she could she clearly see her reflection in them.

After a minute she removed the cloth and put both it and the bottle away. Then she remembered the book she dropped and ran to it.

“Is everything all right?”Gold asked.

“The cover has a gash in it and there's some bits of ghoul on it, but otherwise it's fine. None of the pages got ruined.” She cleaned off the ghoul remains before carefully placing the book back in her bag. “Well, I guess we should keep looking around, since we barely scratched the surface of this place.”

They searched the place for another hour, searching through every nook and cranny. There were lots of still readable books left among the ruin and rubble, but Belle knew that she couldn't possibly take all of them at once, so she settled on taking a copy of _Les Miserables_ and promised herself that she would returned for the rest and hopefully with a better bag.

“I see you have quite an interest in books,” Gold said as he placed a silver locket in his jacket.”

“Ever since my mother read _The Hobbit_ to me as a little girl I've been practically obsessed with books. Whenever I used to go on missions with the Brotherhood I would always sneak books with me back onto the Prydwen whenever I could. What about you, Mr. Gold? What brings you to a place like this?”

“I own a shop in Goodneighbor where I sell restored Pre-War goods. Most of my business comes from Pre-War ghouls who want a part of their past to cling on to. I can't say I blame them; I do the same. Even people who aren't Pre-War ghouls seem to like what I have. I guess they see them as some sort of window to the past.”

“Wait... you were alive before the War?”

“Indeed. Though I'm sure my youthful complexion is what threw you off.” She chuckled at his little joke. “Anyway, I don't think there's anything else here for us. Shall we return?” Belle nodded before following him back outside.

Perhaps she would have some friends here after all.


End file.
